If you are looking for information on corporations for an activist campaign, investigative article, lawsuit, socially conscious investment, or a school paper, this interactive guide will take you step by step through researching corporations on the Internet.

Step 1: Visit the Company's Website

You can look it up in a search engine like Google. Browse investor relations information, company annual reports, press releases, products and business locations. If you wish, request an annual report from the company or from a third party service like PRARS: The Public Register's Annual Report Service.

Step 2: Look for Corporate Information in Business and Financial Resources

U.S. Public CompaniesLook up the company with an investor guide like Market Guide, Hoover's Online or Insider Scores. Check out the corporate overview, executive information, stock performance and business news.

Browse the corporation's filings in the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission's EDGAR Database.

Check Form 10-K, for a comprehensive annual business and financial overview; Form 10-Q, for quarterly financial statements; Form 8-K, for reports on "material events or corporate changes," and Proxy Statements (Schedule 14A), which include executive compensation data.

Non-U.S. or Private CompaniesThese companies are not required to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Finding information can be a bit tricky. Look for information in the business press and/or try:

Watchdog and Activist Resources

Use our site search engine to locate information about a company. Also visit our Hot Links by Issue which lists many activist campaigns. See if the company you are investigating is a target. Here are some other helpful resources:

Corporate Responsibility

Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility: For nearly thirty years the ICCR has been a leader in researching, campaigning and spearheading shareholder resolutions for denominations and other groups interested in socially responsible investing.

Step 4: Search News Sources

Business Press

Other Journalist Resources

American Journalism Review offers an extensive international index of news publications and access to several news search engines. You may still need to go to a specific newspaper's Web site to search for articles. Newspapers frequently offer current articles for free, but may charge for archived articles.

Where To Go For On-Line News Databases

Visit your local public library or closest university library for access to magazine and newspaper databases (some public libraries provide access to magazine and newspaper databases over the Internet to library cardholders). Sometimes libraries have access to Lexis-Nexis databases. Ask the business librarian for assistance with business information resources. They know their library inside and out!

Step 5: Search Engines

Use a search engine as your last step not as a starting point. Try a search engine like Northern Light or a web information directory like the Open Directory Project. For best results, check the search tips first. Focus your search by including descriptive words with the company name, for example: "general electric" nuclear protest